Happy Halloween!

Red Maple

This maple tree is a darling of the neighborhood these days, everyone is taking pictures and talking about it. Though half of the tree is on my neighbor's property but these beautiful red leaves cost me few hundred dollars each year :) (for the clean-up). The tree is very smart, blows all the leaves on my driveway and in my front yard. But it is worth every penny to look at it.

Queen Elizabeth Rose!

Yesterday I went to my backyard after a long interval, this lone Queen Elizabeth rose was smiling, glad I cut it and brought along with some other roses. We already have had our first freeze, seems this is the last QE rose of the season.

Best wishes.

Hot air balloon!

On the morning commute saw this hot air balloon right in front. Couldn't resist taking a picture (there were no other cars or creatures in the street). A perfect fall day for flying in the hot air balloon. Calm winds and 40F. 

Windsor Chair

Fan-back Windsor 

In our bathroom we have an old Windsor chair bearing patina of age. The other day sitting on it I just wondered why is it called “Windsor Chair”. So the quest for the history of Windsor chair begun.  Here it is what I found out, In case you didn’t know it too.

It is not clear when the first Windsor chair was made. However there is evidence that around 16^th century chair spindles were made the way wheel spokes were and perhaps the first Windsor chairs might have been born around that time.

As far as the christening of the chair is concerned, it is speculated that by 1724 the bulk of Windsor chairs were produced and marketed from Windsor, Berkshire, (of course Great Britain) therefore they derived their name “Windsor Chair.”

By the 18^th century, steam was used to bend the chair to make the bow of the chair. The chair has since evolved into seven distinctive styles:

1   

     Sack-back

Hoop-back

Comb-back

Low-back

Rod-back

Fan-back

Continuous arm

There are endless choices of Windsor chairs available, you can buy a brand new one for $ 200.00 or an antique one for $19,000.00 + 

Cheers! To the Windsor chair…

A primitive 1790s Windsor through 1stdibbs

18th century bow-back

1790s comb-back

Comb-back

c. 1800 Windsor rocker

Sack-back

19th century American sack-back

Rod-back 

Hoop-back

Riviera by Crate and Barrel

Gilbert by Ethan Allen

Credits: www.1stdibbs.com, www.wikipedia.com, www.ethanallen.com, www.crateandbarrel.com, lonestarmercantile.blogspot.com, www.onekingslane.com. etc